German Court: ‘Woman can wear headscarf at work!’

A German dental practice which refused to hire a young Muslim woman because she insisted on wearing a headscarf at work broke the law, it was reported on Thursday. The court ruling is the first of its kind for the country.

A young Berlin woman applied last summer for a traineeship to become a dental assistant. Despite being qualified and getting along with staff, she was told that she could not have the position unless she removed her headscarf, the Tagesspiegel newspaper said.
This was religious discrimination, the city’s labour court ruled. A headscarf was not an “arbitrary piece of clothing” but an expression of her beliefs and wearing it was part of her right to religious freedom.
Refusing to employ because of her headscarf was in breach of the Equal Treatment Act, the judge said.
The court also rejected the suggestion that headscarves could pose a hygiene risk to patients. There was no more chance of transferring bacteria with a scarf than there was via human hair, the judge said.

The decision worth appreciation, very well worded, clear and based on justice. Court is quite clear to mention that banning a scarf means interfering in ones religious freedom. In late 1999, Germany’s top court ruled in favor of religious freedom, protecting the right to Islamic ritual slaughter.